Green emphasized the influence tech and information giants like Steve Jobs have had on Messina. “And he’s even reached out to some more untraditional people like Anna Wintour at Vogue, who helped convince him that Obama should design a celebrity fashion line to bring in more revenue for the campaign.”

“That’ll be a great idea,” panelist Mark McKinnon said dryly. “How to lose an election.”

“Not everyone is sold on that last concept,” Green laughed.

McKinnon, Bush’s former campaign adviser, then asked — after pointing out, rather poetically, that the Obama campaign had the wind at its back the first go-around, only to know have “the wind in its face” — whether Messina’s focus on demos and data can make up for the campaign’s messaging problem.

“I’ve got to think ‘no,'” replied Green, although he did add that Messina and company’s reliance on tech can help “in the margins,” particularly in the swing states on which the campaign is focusing.